Obviously, Capt. R.E. and Mrs. Thalia Ludlow came home on a great high – just like Andrew talked about “grandparent withdrawals,” the grandparents had missed their grandchildren and adopted children deeply even with a weekly visit in the plan for all eight weeks.
“Perspective does not keep the pain from hurting,” Mrs. Ludlow said to Mrs. Maggie Lee, wife to her husband's cousin Col. H.F. Lee.
“Look, Harry and I can't even move away from y'all – Harry has had a whole house for us moved onto that third lot – we're not even trying to leave after just eight weeks, so I can't even imagine loving them all their lives and being away from them.”
So, coming home for the Ludlow grandparents was like a new honeymoon multiplied by nine – and much later, they had celebrated together to a height of passion and bliss that they could only compare to two other occasions in their marriage: their wedding night, and Mrs. Ludlow's 'Escape from New York' after finishing her term as an administrative nurse during the winter and half the spring of 2020 – and for Capt. Ludlow, the afterglow was punched back up almost to the point of delirium with his morning coffee, for on came five-year-old Robert Edward Ludlow III at reveille.
“I liked having coffee with Cousin Harry,” the baby grandson said as he climbed up into his grandfather's lap, “but you know I love you the most, Papa!”
After morning milk with three drops of coffee, Lil' Robert went back to sleep as he was known to do, but his radiant smile because Papa was home sent his grandfather into emotional realms that he could not get out of right away because Mrs. Ludlow was sweetly singing a love song in her half-sleep by the time the baby grandson was tucked back in, and the two grandparents could not touch each other without needing to revisit those realms of bliss together … it was a morning they would never forget.
But then, the mail brought them right back down to the reality of their situation after breakfast.
“What's the meaning of this!” eight-year-old Edwina Ludlow was yelling in the yard after picking up a dropped magazine. “These people are out here using Covid to do fashion foolery and I'm not having it!”
“RUN!” nine-year-old George Ludlow announced to everybody in particular.
And thus began another day with seven grandchildren under 12, their four neighbors the same age, and everybody over 15 just trying to figure out what the heck was going on and keep things safe and sane and healthy.
The end of Monday found the Ludlow grandparents feeling their ages of 56 and 58, and looking only for the bliss of sleep. But …
“You know we would not want to be doing anything else,” Mrs. Ludlow purred to Capt. Ludlow.
“Not anything else in the world, and not anywhere else,” he purred back, two octaves lower.
“Welcome home, Robert,” Mrs. Ludlow said, and smiled as he took her into his arms and kissed her forehead.
“Welcome home, Thalia. It's good to be home.”
There was a soft knock on the door.
“I need you,” seven-year-old Amanda Ludlow said as she walked through the door, dragging her blanket behind her, “because I just thought: is the Sandman even safe out there, going to random people's houses and bringing them dreams while things go bump in the night?”
“Come here, Amanda,” the two grandparents said, and got her settled back down and asleep between them, feeling that she and everyone was safe and loved. After tucking her back into her bed, the two Ludlow grandparents got into their bed, put their arms around each other, and laughed themselves to sleep!
